Alison Hammond says ‘I’m just grateful’ as she finally addresses ITV Big Brother presenting job

This Morning star Alison Hammond has revealed that she turned down the chance to host ITV’s revival of Big Brother. The series returned for the first time since 2018 last year and is now hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best.

Alison, who will soon take over from Paul O’Grady on ITV’s For the Love of Dogs, has said she had conversations with show bosses about hosting the reality TV show, which originally aired on Channel 4.

She told The Sun newspaper's TV Mag: "They asked to see me and I went in there and said to them: 'Listen, I'll be honest, I've never ever wanted to host Big Brother. I'm just grateful for everything it's given me."

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Alison found fame after appearing on the third series of Big Brother in 2002. Her year on the show also featured Kate Lawler and the late Jade Goody.

Since then Alison has appeared on numerous TV shows. She notably took over as host of Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off last year.

On her new role as host of For the Love of Dogs Alison said: "I was surprised with how much criticism I got [when I was announced]. I could understand that Paul was so loved but trolls will be trolls, and I'll still do what I do best, which is TV presenting. My life is not conducive to having a dog right now but I can foster whenever I've got a week here or there."

You can catch Alison on This Morning on ITV1 and ITVX on Fridays from 10am. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.